February 5, 2008--Uranium mining company proposes changes to state mining bill (Greeley Tribune)

A company that wants to mine for uranium near Nunn proposed changes to a state bill in the Colorado Legislature on Monday that would change how the company complies with proposed rules governing mining. The bill, House Bill 1161, would require that companies such as Powertech -- the Canadian company proposing the Nunn mine -- clean groundwater to pre-mining quality after it finishes mining the radioactive material.Powertech could use one of the amendments to get a pre-mining water quality waiver from the Environmental Protection Agencythat some say is a way of circumventing certain water quality regulations at the state level, though other regulations on water quality would still apply from other agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In addition, the bill as introduced would require companies such as Powertech to provide evidence of five successfully cleaned mines before its permit is approved. Powertech proposed a change to the bill Monday that would allow mining companies to give only a "comprehensive history" of mining techniques and the risks involved in them.

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